Wife of Scotland's former first minister says Israel starving her family in Gaza
El-Nakla and Yousaf, the former leader of the Scottish National Party, appeared together in a video on Wednesday, addressing their family's suffering in Gaza, where Israel faces charges of war crimes and genocide.
El-Nakla said the Israeli government was deliberately starving her cousin Sally and her four children, as well as her aunt Hanan, her children, and grandchildren, including a 7-month-old baby.
Her family lives in the town of Deir Al-Balah, where Israeli forces have launched a bombing campaign this week.
Ongoing Israeli attacks and the policy of aid restrictions in Gaza have led to food shortages, impacting the 2 million residents. Over 100 human rights organizations warned this week that 'mass starvation' is spreading in Gaza.
She said that 'starving people were being forced to run while being shot and bombed.'
Yousaf said children in Gaza were being 'starved, displaced, bombed, all while the world watches.'
'Sally is one of millions in Gaza. Her husband goes out all day searching for food, often to come home with nothing,' the former SNP leader said.
'And when I say home, I mean a tent and almost 40-degree heat.'
He said that doctors and journalists have become too weak to treat patients or cover news due to severe starvation.
El-Nakla added that 'this is a deliberate starvation of the Palestinian people ... This form of warfare is sickening and the stories and images from my family and millions of others in Gaza are absolutely gut-wrenching.
'Can you imagine not being able to feed your children yet knowing the food you so desperately need is only a few miles away?'
She went on: 'Sally's life matters, Palestinian lives matter, and I am begging those who have the power to open the borders to do so now and let the people of Gaza live.'
El-Nakla's parents, Maged and Elizabeth, were trapped in Gaza for four weeks after visiting family when the war began following Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7. They later left through Egypt along with other British nationals.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported on Wednesday that 10 individuals died from malnutrition in the previous 24 hours.
The UK, along with 28 nations, accused Israel this week of inhumane actions, including the 'drip feeding' of aid and the killing of civilians seeking food and water in Gaza.
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